PERSONALISED CAPSULES

COMPETITION:Dezeen x MINI Living Future Urban Home CompetitionAWARD: Finalists
YEAR: 2018In the history of architecture,
from Da Vinci’s Vitruvius Man to Le Corbusier’s Modulor Man, people have been
identified based on their physical dimensions. This has led to a universal
person that needs a universal home. This home has been shrinking in order to
adapt to housing crises, climate change and economic decline. Thus, it has
ended up being a minimum neutral box that is supposed to fit the needs of every
person.Today, more than ever, our
societies acknowledge that each person is unique and has their own character,
aesthetics and needs. At the same time, cutting edge technologies, such as AI
and machine learning, have come closer to the people and are able to connect
with each individual personally. In addition, robotic fabrication processes
allow people to collaborate with machines in order to build their personal designs.
How can we use these technologies in order to achieve a human- centered,
sustainable housing system?The future urban home should
provide a dignified space for each person, which expresses their individual
identities and needs, by offering personalized design solutions. We call these
homes, personalized creative capsules. These capsules provide the space and
facilities to help people design and fabricate their own homes. Although they
have a very small footprint they have the potential to expand and adapt to people’s
needs. A projected interface uses machine learning to understand people’s taste
and preferences and proposes design solutions for their needs. A fabrication
space is equipped with robots that prototype the chosen design and fabricate
the new home on site as an extension of the capsule.This way, every person ends up
with a unique personalized home. These homes create vibrant, adaptable
neighborhoods that are part of a different urban future. An urban future that
uses technology to enhance human creativity and makes everyone feel at home.